University of Minnesota Athletic Communications 244 Bierman Field Athletic Building, 516 15th Avenue SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455 GOPHERSPORTS.com This Weekend vs. Sports Pavilion Saturday, January 12 6:00 p.m. 2013 Schedule & Results January 12 #17 Washington 6:00 p.m. 19 at #16 Penn State 6:00 p.m. (w/ Kent State and Towson) 26 vs. #10 Michigan* 6:00 p.m. (w/ Central Michigan and Iowa State) February 1 at Michigan State* 6:00 p.m. 9 vs. #18 Illinois* 4:00 p.m. 16 Best of Minnesota 6:00 p.m. (w/ Gustavus, Hamline and Winona State) 22 at Iowa* (BTN) 7:00 p.m. 24 at Iowa State 2:00 p.m. March 1 at #3 Florida 6:00 p.m. 9 vs. #7 Nebraska* 6:00 p.m. (w/ #12 Arkansas and Centenary) 16 vs. #14 Ohio State* 6:00 p.m. 23 at Big Ten Championships (East Lansing, Mich.) April 6 at NCAA Regional Championships (TBD) 19 at NCAA Championships (Los Angeles, Calif.) Athletic Communications Director: Garry Bowman Contact: Michael Molde Office: 612.625.5560 Cell: 612.619.1634 Fax: 612.625.0359 email: molde032@umn.edu /MinnesotaWomensGymnastics FOLLOW US @GopherWomensGym The Top 10.0 Things You Need to Know... 1.0 - The Gophers open their 2013 regular season against 17th-ranked Washington. It marks the second straight year that Minnesota has opened its home slate against a nationally-ranked opponent. Last year, #18 Ohio State defeated the Gophers by three-tenths of a point. 2.0 - Minnesota enters the meet ranked 23rd in the GymInfo Preseason Poll, marking the fourth consecutive year the Gophers have opened a season among the Top 25. Overall, the Gophers have debuted in the Top 25 in 13 of the 15 years that GymInfo has published a preseason poll. 3.0 - Meg Stephenson begins her fourth season as head coach of the Golden Gophers after spending the previous 11 seasons as co-head coach with her husband, Jim. 4.0 - The Golden Gophers have a wealth of experience, as 22 of the team s 24 routines from 2012 are returning for 2013. Among the top returners are juniors Kayla Slechta, a two-time NCAA Championships qualifier, and Dusti Russell, who earned a trip to Nationals last season. 5.0 - Senior Janell Campbell will serve as Minnesota s team captain. Campbell is coming off a junior season in which she recorded career-highs on both bars (9.875) and floor (9.900). 6.0 - The last time Minnesota faced a Pac-12 opponent in the regular season (No. 25 Arizona State), the Gophers came away with a first-place finish in a quad meet at No. 17 Denver. The Gophers had a team score of 196.225 at that meet on March 17, 2012. 7.0 - Minnesota s talented sophomore class looks for continued success after a breakout first season with the program in 2012. Jenny Covers, Kylie Schermann, and Cierra Tomson are all expected to play major roles for the Golden Gophers. 8.0 - Minnesota adds a talented freshman class to the mix, with Madie Hanley, Lindsay Mable, and Hanna Nordquist all expected to make significant impacts. 9.0 - The Gophers have meets scheduled against eight teams that open the season among the GymInfo Top 25, including No. 3 Florida and five other nationally-ranked Big Ten teams. 10.0 - Minnesota, which was tabbed for fifth in the Big Ten, will look to improve upon its thirdplace finish at last year s Big Ten Championships. Team Comparison Minnesota vs. Washington 23...National Rank...17 195.985*...Regional Qualifying Score...195.595* 195.179*...Average Team Score...194.908* 196.250*...High Team Score...196.350* 49.110 (16)*...Regional Qualifying Score (Nat. Rank)...48.950 (25)* 48.993*...Average Vault Score...48.850* 49.300*...High Vault Score...49.175* Kayla Slechta (t-48)...top Performer (Nat. Rank)...Lauren Rogers (t-66) 48.885 (27)*...Regional Qualifying Score (Nat. Rank)...49.000 (20)* 48.505*...Average Bars Score...48.819* 49.075*...High Bars Score...49.350* Janell Campbell (t-114)...top Performer (Nat. Rank)...Aliza Vaccher (t-104) 48.885 (21)*...Regional Qualifying Score (Nat. Rank)...48.855 (23)* 48.650*...Average Beam Score...48.542* 49.000*...High Beam Score...49.100* Shannon Golich (t-36)...top Performer (Nat. Rank)...Paige Bixler (t-44) 49.150 (16)*...Regional Qualifying Score (Nat. Rank)...49.020 (t-20)* 49.004*...Average Floor Score...48.698* 49.325*...High Floor Score...49.175* J. Campbell, Dusti Russell (t-40)...top Performer (Nat. Rank)...McKenzie Fechter (t-82) *2012 Statistics
2013 Golden Gophers Name Year Hometown High School/Club Janell Campbell Sr. Germantown, Wis. Germantown/LaFleur s Academy of Gymnastics Justine Cherwink Jr. Aledo, Texas Aledo/Denton Gymnastics Academy Jenny Covers So. Prairie Grove, Ill. Prairie Ridge/Crystal Lake Gymnastics Shannon Golich Sr. Aurora, Ill. West Aurora/Phenom Gymnastics Madie Hanley Fr. Danielsville, Pa. Northampton Area/Parkettes Sarah Lokos Fr. Gaithersburg, Md. Home Schooled/Hill s Gymnastics Lindsay Mable Fr. Aurora, Colo. Eaglecrest/Colorado Gymnastics Institute Hanna Nordquist Fr. Otsego, Minn. Spectrum/Twin City Twisters Dusti Russell Jr. Oshkosh, Wis. Oshkosh West/Oshkosh Gymnastics Kylie Schermann So. Lakeville, Minn. Lakeville North/TAGS South Kayla Slechta Jr. Shakopee, Minn. Shakopee/Classic Gymnastics Cierra Tomson So. Jacksonville, Fla. Seacoast Christian Acad./Gymnastics Unlimited Head Coach: Meg Stephenson (Iowa State, 81) Associate Head Coach: Jenny Hansen (Minnesota, 04) Assistant Coach: Louie Johnson (Minnesota, 95) Volunteer Coach: Jim Stephenson (Iowa State, 73) Student Managers: Megan Alvarez, Hannah Schroeder Athletic Trainer: Emily Whitten (Nebraska, 07) Intrasquad and Debuts Minnesota gave fans a sneak peek of what it has in store for 2013 at its Intrasquad Meet last Saturday, and the Gophers didn t disappoint the nice crowd at the Sports Pavilion by recording a team score of 194.725. The team total was Minnesota s best-ever at an Intrasquad Meet. In fact, the last time the Gophers recorded a score of more than 192.000 at an Intrasquad (193.500 on Jan. 3, 2009), they opened the season with a 194.375-192.575 home win versus Arizona the following week. That s also the last time Minnesota opened the season with a win. Big Finish With its third-place finish at last year s Big Pronunciations Golich = Goal-itch Lokos = Loh-kose Schermann = Sure-man Slechta = Slec-tuh Ten Championships, Minnesota snapped a five-year streak of placing outside the Top 3 at the event. Last year s finish was Minnesota s best since winning the title during 2006. Performing at a High Level The Golden Gophers surpassed a team total of 196.000 four times during 2012, which is the most in one season since also reaching that plateau four times during 2004. Vaulting Up the Charts Minnesota recorded its third-best team vault score in school history by recording a 49.300 at the Big Ten Championships. Five Gopher gymnasts had scores of 9.850 or better to reach the mark. 2013 Team Scores Date Meet Vault Bars Beam Floor Team Score * - Big Ten opponents $ - Season Best GymInfo Preseason Poll No. Team (1st Pl. Votes) Points Date vs. Gophers 1. Alabama (11) 689 2. UCLA (5) 645 3. Florida (10) 644 March 1 -- Away 4. Oklahoma (1) 622 5. Utah (1) 568 6. Stanford 542 7. Nebraska 495 March 9 -- Home 8. LSU 481 9. Oregon State 442 10. Michigan 438 Jan. 26 -- Home 11. Georgia 435 12. Arkansas 421 March 9 -- Home 13. Auburn 302 14. Ohio State 279 March 16 -- Home 15. Boise State 258 16. Penn State 242 Jan. 19 -- Away 17. Washington 212 Jan. 12 -- Home 18. Illinois 192 Feb. 9 -- Home 19. Arizona 183 20. Denver 140 21. Missouri 139 22. North Carolina St. 129 23. Minnesota 123 24. West Virginia 115 25. Kentucky 101 Head Coach Meg Stephenson 15th Season -- Fourth season as head coach after being a co-head coach with her husband, Jim, for 11 seasons. -- Started as an assistant coach with the Golden Gophers in 1993 and held position for five seasons. Honors and Awards -- Twice named Big Ten Coach of the Year (1998, 2002) -- Regional Coach of the Year (2002) -- President, National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches for Women (1995-98) -- Past member of NCAA Women s Gymnastics Committee -- Past member of USAG Board of Directors Coaching Accomplishments -- Two-time Big Ten Champions (1998, 2006) -- Two NCAA Championships appearances (1997, 2002) -- 18 NCAA Regional appearances -- Coached eight Big Ten individual champions -- Coached four gymnasts to six All-America honors -- Coached two individual NCAA Regional champions -- Coached 49 gymnasts to All-Big Ten accolades GopherSports.com 2
Janell Campbell Senior Justine Cherwink Junior Jenny Covers Sophomore 2012 Average -- 9.614 -- 9.828 -- 2012 RQS -- 9.810 -- 9.865 -- 2012 High Score -- 9.875 -- 9.900 -- Career High Score 9.800 9.875 9.550 9.900 -- 2012 Average -- 9.706 -- -- -- 2012 RQS -- -- -- -- -- 2012 High Score -- 9.725 -- -- -- Career High Score 9.750 9.750 -- -- -- 2012 Average 9.798 9.469 -- -- -- 2012 RQS 9.835 9.530 -- -- -- 2012 High Score 9.875 9.675 -- -- -- Career High Score 9.875 9.675 -- -- -- 2012 Event Wins Vault Kayla Slechta 9.825 at Illinois (1.14) Jenny Covers 9.800 Best of Minn. (2.11) Dusti Russell 9.875 at Iowa (2.24) Shannon Golich 9.850 Iowa State (3.10) Jenny Covers 9.850 Iowa State (3.10) Uneven Bars Janell Campbell 9.800 Ohio State (1.7) Cierra Tomson 9.800 Ohio State (1.7) Janell Campbell 9.800 Penn State (1.28) Lucy Ennis 9.800 Penn State (1.28) Lucy Ennis 9.850 Best of Minn. (2.11) Balance Beam Shannon Golich 9.850 Ohio State (1.7) Dusti Russell 9.850 at Illinois (1.14) Shannon Golich 9.875 Best of Minn. (2.11) Dusti Russell 9.875 at Iowa (2.24) Kylie Schermann 9.875 at Iowa (2.24) Shannon Golich 9.825 at Iowa State (2.26) Shannon Golich 9.825 Iowa State (3.10) Floor Exercise Dusti Russell 9.875 Ohio State (1.7) Kayla Slechta 9.850 Michigan (1.21) Kayla Slechta 9.850 Best of Minn. (2.11) Dusti Russell 9.850 Best of Minn. (2.11) Janell Campbell 9.900 Nebraska (2.18) Dusti Russell 9.875 at Iowa (2.24) Janell Campbell 9.875 at Iowa (2.24) Dusti Russell 9.875 at Iowa State (2.26) Janell Campbell 9.900 Iowa State (3.10) All Around Dusti Russell 38.925 Ohio State (1.7) Dusti Russell 38.825 at Illinois (1.14) Kayla Slechta 39.200 Best of Minn. (2.11) Dusti Russell 39.450 at Iowa (2.24) Dusti Russell 39.225 Iowa State (3.10) GopherSports.com 3
Shannon Golich Senior 2012 Average 9.806 -- 9.775 9.655 -- 2012 RQS 9.835 -- 9.850 9.810 -- 2012 High Score 9.850 -- 9.875 9.875 -- Career High Score 9.850 -- 9.900 9.875 -- Madie Hanley Sarah Lokos GopherSports.com 4
Lindsay Mable Hanna Nordquist Dusti Russell Junior 2012 Average 9.755 9.718 9.727 9.813 39.007 2012 RQS 9.815 9.780 9.835 9.865 39.160 2012 High Score 9.875 9.825 9.875 9.875 39.450 Career High Score 9.875 9.825 9.900 9.900 39.450 GopherSports.com 5
Kylie Schermann Sophomore 2012 Average 9.706 9.350 9.730 9.804 38.375 2012 RQS 9.725 -- 9.785 9.815 -- 2012 High Score 9.750 9.375 9.875 9.850 38.675 Career High Score 9.750 9.375 9.875 9.850 38.675 Kayla Slechta Junior 2012 Average 9.840 9.606 9.495 9.802 38.803 2012 RQS 9.865 9.780 9.450 9.825 38.780 2012 High Score 9.900 9.800 9.800 9.850 39.200 Career High Score 9.925 9.800 9.800 9.900 39.200 Cierra Tomson Sophomore 2012 Average 9.773 9.634 9.633 9.745 38.783 2012 RQS 9.810 9.790 9.745 9.790 39.030 2012 High Score 9.850 9.850 9.775 9.850 39.250 Career High Score 9.850 9.850 9.775 9.850 39.250 GopherSports.com 6